name	Hiram College
motto	''Fiat Lux''
mottoeng	Let there be light
established	March 1, 1850
type	Private, Liberal Arts College
Affiliation	Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
endowment	US$54.9 million
president	Thomas V. Chema
city	Hiram
state	Ohio
country	United States
coor
campus	Rural college town, main, J.H. Barrow Field Station, NGorthwoods Field Station (the U.P. of MI)
former names	Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (1850-1867)
undergrad	1,241 (Fall, 2009)
postgrad	30 (Fall, 2008)
faculty	73 full-time (Fall, 2008)
nickname	Terriers
colors	Red & Blue
athletics	NCAA Division III NCAC
affiliations	Annapolis Group Shoals Marine Lab
website	www.hiram.edu
logo	}}

Hiram College ( ) is a private liberal arts college located in Hiram, Ohio. Founded by Amos Sutton Hayden of the Disciples of Christ Church in 1850, the institution has, since its first days, been nonsectarian and coeducational, and throughout its existence Hiram College has sustained this egalitarian tradition of educating men and women from diverse backgrounds. U.S. President James A. Garfield was a student, instructor, and principal of the institution while it was still the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute. Today the College is known for its unique academic calendar and for its study abroad programs. Hiram College is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Hiram is listed in Loren Pope's ''Colleges That Change Lives''.

Founding and History

The Disciples of Christ founded the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute as a nonsectarian, coeducational preparatory school in 1849. Hiram was chosen as the site of the institution because this area of the Western Reserve seemed to be "healthful and free of distractions."

The Institute's original charter was authorized by the state legislature on March 1, 1850, and the school opened on November 27, 1850 despite the fact that the building was not yet completed. Many of the students came from the surrounding farms and villages of the Western Reserve, but Hiram soon gained a national reputation and students began arriving from other states. The school attained collegiate rank in 1867 and changed its name to Hiram College.

The first principal of the Institute (equivalent to today's president of the College) was Amos Sutton Hayden (1813–1880), who served from 1850 until 1857. Almeda A. Booth (1823–1875) served as principal of the Ladies' department and as a faculty member of English, Classics, and Mathematics from 1851 until 1866. She was one of Garfield's more influential teachers and remained close friends with him until her death. Garfield was also mentored by Platt Rogers Spencer, a prominent writing scholar. Garfield, himself, after completing his degree at Williams, returned to Hiram to join the faculty in 1856, as a classical scholar teaching Greek and Latin, along with such subjects as mathematics and geology. In 1857, he became principal of the Institute. Although he left Hiram in 1861 to take up the Civil War command of Company A of the 42nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, a regiment recruited from Hiram, Garfield's name appeared in the Institute's catalogs until 1863.

Three years after the Institute attained collegiate rank and became known as Hiram College, Burke A. Hinsdale, who had been a student of Garfield's, was appointed president. Because of the fairly brief terms of the two presidents who preceded him, Hinsdale is known as the first permanent president of Hiram College. During his administration (1870–1882), the College achieved higher academic standing and established an ideal model for intellectual honesty and sound scholarship that gained national recognition. Hinsdale gathered around him the nucleus of a strong faculty who continued to serve the College for the next half century.

In September 2004, Thomas V. Chema was appointed as the 21st president of Hiram College.

Overview

Hiram employs a unique academic calendar consisting of two, 15-week semesters further divided into two sessions- a 12-week, during which students take three academic courses, and a 3-week, when students focus on a single intensive course .

The College was awarded a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's premier undergraduate honor society, in 1971. Represented within the College's enrollment are twenty-three countries, twenty-six states and more than twenty-five different religions. More than 50% of students study abroad at least once en route to their degree. Hiram has implemented a Tuition Guarantee system, which ensures that the annual cost for tuition will not increase between the first year a student is enrolled at Hiram and the student's senior year.

In the Press

Education writer Loren Pope included Hiram in his influential book ''Colleges That Change Lives''. He praised the College writing "Concern for the student's personal as well as academic welfare is one of the qualities that makes Hiram such an exceptional college." The Princeton Review notes Hiram's strengths saying "Uniformly strong science programs set this tiny liberal arts college apart from many otherwise fine schools of similar size. Want proof? Over the past ten years, Hiram's medical school acceptance rate has been among the highest in the nation." - The Princeton Review (2002). As a member of the Annapolis Group, Hiram does not generally endorse the process of ranking colleges numerically. Hiram's ranking in the 2011 edition of U.S.News Best Colleges is 152 in the category of National Liberal Arts Colleges. Hiram's ranking in Americas Best Colleges 2010 produced by Forbes and the Center for College Affordability and Productivity is 166 out of all colleges and universities.

Academics

As a liberal arts college, Hiram specializes in the education of undergraduate students, though the college does have a small graduate program. Hiram confers the following degrees: BA, BSN (nursing), MA (interdisciplinary studies). Students also have the option of a dual degree plan in engineering between Hiram and the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, or the School of Engineering at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

Majors: Accounting and Financial Management, Biochemistry, Biology, Biomedical Humanities, Chemistry, Communication, Computer Science, Creative Writing, Economics, Education, English, Environmental Studies, French, History, Management, Mathematics, Music, Nursing, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Religious Studies, Sociology/Anthropology, Spanish, Studio Art/Art History, Theatre Arts

Additional minors: Entrepreneurship, Ethics, Exercise/Sport Science, Gender Studies, International Studies, Public Leadership, Photography, Urban Studies, Writing

Pre-professional programs: business, dentistry, law, medicine, optometry, podiatry, seminary, veterinary

Most popular majors: biology; management; biomedical humanities; accounting; education

Hiram's strengths as an institution relate to its small class sizes, which affords students significant involvement in lectures. Hiram's education plan also focuses on international study experiences, independent study opportunities, and faculty-guided research projects. Currently, almost all majors require some form of extensive independent project or apprenticeship experience, and in most cases, a public defense/presentation of the work, in order to complete the degree requirements.

Centers of Distinction

Hiram is home to seven research centers/ institutes which seek to "apply interdisciplinary approaches to complex, multi-faceted questions that do not lend themselves to straightforward solutions." These centers serve as forums for confronting various challenges encountered by society. They bring to campus notable scholars and authors and create research opportunities for students.

Garfield Institute for Public Leadership

Examines matters of foreign and domestic public policy.

Center for the Study of Ethics & Values

Examines moral issues within the liberal arts and society at large.

Center for Deciphering Life's Languages

Examines issues within molecular, cellular, and developmental biology with emphasis on genomics and bioinformatics, facilitates research.

Center for the Study of Nature & Society

Examines the impact of humans on nature and vice versa, facilitates biological and environmental research.

Center for Literature, Medicine, & Biomedical Humanities

Examines health care issues through the study of literary works, brings to campus notable scholars and authors within medical ethics.

Lindsay-Crane Center for Writing & Literature

Examines literary works and techniques across disciplines.

Center for Integrated Entrepreneurship

Examines entrepreneurial strategies and opportunities, facilitates student entrepreneurship.

Library

See Hiram College Library

Athletics

The school's sports teams are called the Terriers. They participate in the NCAA's Division III and the North Coast Athletic Conference. The Hiram College basketball team, competing as the United States national team, won the 1904 Olympic gold medal in St. Louis.

Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming & diving, and track & field. Women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, track & field, and volleyball. Hiram will begin competition in both men's and women's lacrosse in 2012. Among the more popular club sports at Hiram is men's rugby, which competes against other area colleges and in the annual alumni rugby match.

Student organizations

Association for Computing Machinery(ACM)

The Hiram College undergraduate chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery is a club for technology enthusiasts and students with interest in computer science. Its activities include participation in the ACM Programming Contest, the regular sponsorship of computer games playable over Hiram's local area network (LAN) and the hosting of speakers of interest to the technology community. The Hiram College Association for Computing Machinery meets periodically throughout the academic year.

Greek clubs

In order to preserve the egalitarian character of the college, it was decided that Hiram would have no national fraternities or sororities. Greek social clubs with no affiliations to national fraternities or sororities exist on campus, however, and are restricted from using the same Greek letters as any national organization.

Established in 1929, Phi Gamma Epsilon (or "Phi Gams") is currently the oldest existing Greek social fraternity at Hiram College. Probation threatened the existence of the club both in the mid 1980s and the 00s, but the group survived and now claims to boast a strong, visible presence. The Phi Gams have sponsored a number of events with their sister organization Phi Beta Gamma, including an annual Toga Party and Spaghetti Dinner. The group's mascot, Buck PhiGam, is a Viking whose likeness is represented in a painting the group believes was created in the 1920s.

Phi Beta Gamma, their sister group, was established in 1941 and is the oldest existing Greek social sorority. The "Betas" hold annual events such as: Toga and Funky Formal which are open to the entire campus community. They hold weekly meetings and social events while encouraging each other to be leaders on campus.

Phi Kappa Chi was founded in 1946 and exists as a diverse female organization generally meeting on a bimonthly basis. This sorority hosts fundraisers for breast cancer and domestic violence awareness in addition to performing sexual education programs. Their brother fraternity is Kappa Sigma Pi. Reestablished in January 2004 the mission statement of Kappa Sigma Pi entails providing brotherhood, friendship, and camaraderie to any individual willing to uphold the laws governing their organization.

Other Greek clubs include the sorority of the Delta Chi Lambda's as well as their brother organization the Lambda Lambda's.

Kennedy Center Programming Board

The Kennedy Center Programming Board (KCPB) is one of Hiram's largest student organizations. Although its establishment is unknown, yearbook pictures of events and members can be found as far back as the early 1970s. KCPB is responsible for programming student activities on campus. KCPB receives its funding from the student activity fund which each student pays into each year. Some of the annually notable programs are Homecoming, Spring Fest, Campus Day, Game Room Tournaments, and Coffee Houses. In 2006/2007, Student Senate created a new position, Vice President of Activities. This person serves as the chairman/chairwoman of KCPB. This merger allowed Student Senate to relinquish its programming sector and focus on student and college issues.

Terrier Productions

Terrier Productions is Hiram College's film and video production club. They tape events on campus, create promotional advertisements for other clubs, and work on other creative projects—including talk shows, music videos, student body polls, and short movies. This group broadcasts over a local, closed-network cable channel and Youtube .

Terrier Sound Marching Band

Hiram College created its first marching band in Spring of 2006 emerging from an already established pep band. After intense fund raising, the students raised just over $10,000 to purchase marching band music and instruments in just less than six months. The first marching band in Hiram College history sprang from student initiative. The Terrier Sound Marching Band (TSMB) made its first official appearance at the Hiram’s season-opening football game against Carnegie Mellon University on Saturday, September 2, 2006. In the summer of 2007, the marching band purchased its first official marching band uniforms after a generous donation. The band can be seen performing on the steps of the Kennedy Center (Student Union) before the home football games.

Notable alumni and faculty

Laura Bell - Author, ''Claiming Ground'' (published by Knopf)

James A. Campbell - Industrialist for whom Campbell, Ohio is named.

Sharon Creech - Author, ''Walk Two Moons''

Randy Dearth - President and CEO, Lanxess U.S. subsidiary

Peter R. DeMallie, Jr. - President and Principal, Design Professionals, Inc.

Jonathan Estrin - Executive Vice President, American Film Institute

Joseph Fernandez - Biotechnology entrepreneur, cofounder of Invitrogen, founder and CEO of Active Motif

James A. Garfield - 20th President of the United States

Osee Hall - U.S. Congressman

David Brendan Hopes - Author

Jan Hopkins - journalist (CNN Financial News show "Street Sweep"), businesswoman

John Samuel Kenyon - Linguist, "the dean of American phoneticians"

Vachel Lindsay - Poet

Lance Liotta - Noted cancer biologist, pathologist

J. Kevin McMahon - President and CEO, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

Benjamin D. Pritchard - General who captured Jefferson Davis

Robin Reed - Cell Biologist, Harvard Medical School, known for research on gene expression

Dean Scarborough - President and CEO, Avery Dennison Corp.

William C. Shivers - President of Huntington Bank's Greater Akron/Canton Region

Platt Rogers Spencer - founder of Spencerian style of handwriting

Mark Spong - Roboticist, known for work on robotic control theory

Michael Stanley - American musician and radio announcer

Claude Steele - Social psychologist, Provost of Columbia University

Allyn Vine - Physicist, oceanographer who invented the Alvin submersible vessel that found the Titanic

Tom Wesselmann - American Pop Artist

Bill White - Former MLB first baseman, broadcaster, and National League President

Harold Bell Wright - Best-selling author during the first half of the 20th century

Allyn Abbott Young - American Economist

Popular references

Cleveland Browns NFL team held training camp at Hiram College from 1952 through 1974.

Images

References

External links

Hiram College Official site

Hiram College Study Abroad

Northwoods Field Station

Stephens Memorial Observatory

Category:Universities and colleges in Ohio *Hiram College Category:Universities and colleges affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Category:Educational institutions established in 1850 Category:Council of Independent Colleges Category:National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities members Category:North Central Association of Colleges and Schools Category:Buildings and structures in Portage County, Ohio Category:Members of the Annapolis Group